Llaunched on May 18, 2022 and closed today, the collection of signatures Fur Free Europe has the goal of bind the European Commission to launch a legislative initiative to ban animal farming for fur production throughout the Union. And, for consistency, the trade (and import) of fur products. They are over 80 European NGOs (under the umbrella organization Eurogroup for Animals and the network Fur Free Alliance) who supported this European Citizens’ Initiative. An ICE that has been formally filed by WORK and by 6 other members of the established Citizen panel.
Furs, stop animal breeding and trade
And it’s Simone Pavesi, manager of the Animal Free Fashion Area, who personally “accomplished the feat”, the first to celebrate. “A great victory! Now we will bring 1,701,892 signatures of European citizens at the table of the European Commission to immediately obtain a ban on fur farming and trade”.
Fur Free Europe, a record ICE
To be successful, one ICE extension it must not only reach 1 million validated signatures within 1 year. It must also exceed the assigned national threshold in at least 7 Member States (obtained by multiplying the number of MEPs in the single Member State by the total number of members of the EU Parliament).
Just look at the goals achieved to understand why Fur Free Europe is a record ICE. He collected over 50,000 signatures on the first day of the campaign, with Finland reaching its national threshold in just one day. Over 1,000,000 signatures collected in less than 7 months (the target was reached on 5 December). And 21 Member States have exceeded their national threshold, in the almost 10 months of the campaign.
A mink, a wild animal (Getty Images)
Europe that says no to furs, in order of arrival
The order of arrival? FinlandDenmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Holland, Germany, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland, France, Latvia, Belgium, Greece, Austria, Czech Rep., ItalyEstonia, Croatia, Romania, Malta, Slovenia.
Italy reached the threshold of 53,580 signatures on February 2 in less than 9 months. There are therefore 1,701,892 citizens in the EU who have signed in less than 10 months, leading to the closure of the petition two and a half months early (on March 1 instead of May 18).
The impact of Fur Free Europe on EU legislation
The decision to bring forward the closure of the ICE was taken due to the potential impact it could have on the upcoming review of EU Animal Welfare legislation on farms, as part of the European Commission’s Farm to Fork strategy.
By the end of 2023, the EU Commission will in fact publish a proposal aimed at improving EU legislation on the welfare of farmed animals to align it with recent scientific knowledge.
Mink, fox, raccoon dogs are wild (not farmed)
Numerous scientific studies have in fact demonstrated that minks, foxes and raccoon dogs do not lose their ethological characteristics of wild animals. Consequently, breeding cannot satisfy their most basic ethological needs. In the Commission proposal, thanks to the request of the ICE Fur Free Europe, a ban on the breeding of animals for the production of fur should therefore be included immediately.
Furthermore, since imports of animal products should follow EU standards, the ICE is also calling for a ban on placing fur products on the European market. The cruelty of fur farms should not, in other words, be exported to third countries, it is the entire fur industry that should be closed.
From Elisabetta Franchi to Lush, fur-free companies
“The time has come for a Fur-Free Europe” summarizes Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals. “Fur farming represents a huge moral blind spot and with new Animal Welfare legislation on the way, the EU has an opportunity to end this unnecessary suffering once and for all.”
As Pavesi, from Lav, points out, several companies have also come forward for more marked and direct support for this Initiative. «From LUSH Italia to Save the Duck, up to Elisabetta Franchi, the first fashion house in Italy to adopt a fur-free policy, already in 2012, for a more sustainable and ethical fashion, also on the occasion of the recent Milan Fashion Week ».
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